Their purchasing power has reached an all-time high, they are
earning more college degrees, buying more homes, starting businesses
and volunteering more than ever before.

But those successes belie Latinos' struggles where they have an
opportunity to change Arizona the most: the Legislature.
The Hispanic Caucus is poorly organized, lacks strong leadership and
is too fixated on issues that turn off constituents, Latino leaders
and political analysts say. As a result, it hasn't been pro-active
enough on issues important to voting Hispanics, such as education,
jobs and affordable housing.

"They've been almost silent at times," said Napoleon Pisaņo, a
member of the Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens board.

The 18 Democrats in the Hispanic Caucus last session were at a
severe disadvantage because Republicans outnumbered them. Success in
passing their bills was minimal. They have been powerless to stop
Republican legislation aimed at punishing undocumented immigrants.
They have relied heavily on Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano to
champion causes they care about.

Still, Latino House and Senate lawmakers press on. All but one are
up for re-election this fall and most are expected to cruise through
the Sept. 12 primary and November's general election. But some
Latino community leaders wonder if they will be able to claim any
victories for the hundreds of thousands of Latinos they represent.

Caucus' identity crisis

The Hispanic Caucus is a group of senators and representatives, not
all Hispanic, who meet regularly to review legislation that could
affect Hispanic constituents. Hispanics make up 28 percent of
Arizona's 6 million people and 17 percent of the 90-member
Legislature. Fifteen Hispanic lawmakers were listed on last
session's roster.

Lawmakers formed the caucus in the mid-1980s. It is informal and has
no membership requirements or bylaws. California, Texas, New York
and Illinois have formal Hispanic caucuses with staff and
researchers.

The Hispanic Caucus here does not keep track of how many of its
members sponsored bills, how many were heard by committees or how
many were signed into law.

However, members said that during the last session, at least three
Hispanic lawmakers were able to get five bills signed into law
dealing with irrigation, college credit for military personnel and
government construction contracts.

"I'll tell you what: I care about issues, I follow politics, but I
don't know much about this group," said auto mechanic Horacio
Alvarez of Cave Creek.

"I think they do some things with immigration. But there are other
things out there (that) we care about."

Some community leaders and political experts say that in the past
four years, the Hispanic Caucus has been too narrowly focused on
illegal immigration and is not well-versed enough on mainstream
issues. Few members have emerged as credible, persuasive,
high-profile personalities who resonate outside of the Latino
community, they say. Infighting has turned off lawmakers and
prevented them from full participation.

"There's some internal conflicts in terms of personalities, and
unfortunately that prevents them from reaching a common goal and
working together," said Rep. Pete Rios, D-Hayden, a caucus member
and longtime legislator.

"I had a lot of hope for (Rep.) Ben Miranda, then I had some hope
for (Rep.) Steve Gallardo, but both are unable to reach across the
aisle because they spend so much time throwing grenades on the floor
of the House or the Senate. . . . The other side pretty much
disregards anything they have to say."

Latino lawmakers have been largely invisible to the public on
legislative issues, though a few were on TV during the spring's
pro-immigrant marches, and Gallardo, D-Phoenix; Miranda, D-Phoenix;
and Rios have been visible on some education, immigration and
election law issues.

"I don't even think the Latino community as a whole knows there is a
Latino Caucus," said Rep. David Lujan, D-Phoenix, also a caucus
member. "That is our failure because we don't do a good enough job
of getting out to the public and taking a public stand on issues."

Lawmakers move forward

Several Latino lawmakers acknowledge the caucus' weaknesses but said
its success should not be measured just legislatively.

During the last session, several Latino lawmakers worked with school
officials and high school student groups to plan their participation
in the pro-immigration marches. Several met with Napolitano on the
Flores vs. Arizona case, which dealt with funding for
children struggling to learn English. They also lobbied universities
and community college officials to hire more minorities in top
positions.

"There really wasn't much they could do," Tempe attorney Esteban
Escobedo said. "They're outnumbered. Whenever there's an issue
coming up with immigrants rights, you see them. Because they're
Hispanic, they're going to be looked on as ambassadors to the
Hispanic community."

Latino lawmakers said they must do better at reaching across the
aisle to forge alliances with moderate Republicans to pass bills
that would help Hispanics. Several said they hope to do so during
the next session, which begins in January.

Lawmakers said they plan to seek formal status for the Hispanic
Caucus next session. They hope it will give them more credibility,
help them get out their messages and run more efficiently. Some will
meet next month with a national group, the Board of Hispanic Caucus
Chairs, to discuss how Arizona's group can become more powerful.

They also hope to tip the scale in their favor by talking publicly
and pro-actively about mainstream issues instead of reactively on
immigration-related issues.

"The key is getting educated on these issues is something the caucus
needs to work on," Gallardo said. "We've been spending a lot of time
on the immigration issue.

How do we educate ourselves on mainstream issues . . . when we start
talking about financial literacy . . . the housing market, the
environment. The stuff that we don't maybe study on a day-to-day
basis. Getting educated on some of these issues is something the
caucus needs to work on."